Alive
by daydream11
Summary: He was flying in the sky. He said, "Come with me" and she sat back down. Upon hearing him again, in the sky soaring and flying and laughing, she got back up and went with him. TophAang


I'm not a fan of Taang at all (you may know me as the author of _Between the Two of Us_ and _One More Time_, which both are heavy Kataang fanfics), but to test my writing abilities and to challenge myself, I am writing Taang. I like how this story came out and nevertheless, whether it's my ship or not, I'm proud of it. I hope you readers enjoy it. And I promise, there is not one hint of Kataang. _Not one._

I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender or any of its characters.

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To my friend Eri

Happy 13th Birthday!

August 24th 1993 – August 24th 2006

And many birthdays after

Much love from Samaria

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…_I found your fingerprints  
On a glass of wine  
Do you know you're leaving them  
All over this heart of mine too  
But if I never take this leap of faith  
I'll never know  
So I'm learning to fall  
With no safety net to cushion the blow_…

"I Bruise Easily" by Natasha Bedingfield

----_when**I**soar_----

It was a bright, sunny day, one of those days that were so calm and carefree that a person wondered why the world was the way it was. The sun shined golden rays down onto an emerald green earth, the low grass swaying in the gentle breeze. The cerulean sky stretched out for miles in either direction, nothing at all blocking the group's view of it. Appa was spread out on his back dozing off while Katara and Sokka washed his fur, scrubbing away the dirt that had settled deep into it. Momo was somewhere in the trees, picking fruit here and there to stuff his mouth with.

Toph sat on the soft grassy carpet, her eyes staring blindly at the ground. She was absentmindedly fingering the hem of her skirt, one borrowed from Katara since her own needed washing. Her hair was down, tumbling over her shoulders and sliding down her back like a thick, dark waterfall, painfully straight even after being pinned up for so long. Her wispy bangs brushed along her eyelashes. She remained there, silent as a thief's footsteps in the night, simply listening to the world around her. _Listening_. There were Sokka's groans and the lighthearted _splash!_ as Katara sprayed him with water, and Momo's content purrs every time he found another peach. Appa grunted every now and then and she could feel the deep tremor as he rolled a bit so that the two siblings could clean his other side.

She could hear childish laughter above her, first _here_ close enough by her side that she could hear the swift _woosh_ of the wind and then _there_ gliding away with a silky _swish_ so far away until she couldn't hear a thing. And then there was the still quiet before the air decided to come back all at once, an almost deafening _roar_ until it all just _stopped_ and all she could feel was the gentle padding of a pair of feet landing softly on the ground, so soft it felt like a whispering caress to her earth, barely there and tickling her senses awake.

The ground rumbled slightly beneath her as the young airbender collapsed beside her (_or more like settled_, she mused to herself). She listened to the familiar rustle of his silk garments as the smooth threads retreated apart from each other and then felt a gradual, long weight on the ground, both a sure sign to her that he was now spread out on his back. They stayed there together, neither speaking but both wanting to (wanting to say anything, _anything_ to break the silence between them). She could feel his eyes on her, burning a hole through her tanned, porcelain skin. She became nervous, but for what reason she didn't know (and maybe didn't even _want_ to).

"So…" she began, an edge of uncertainty in her tone. Aang shifted in order to turn to face her; by the way the ground moved she was sure of it.

"So," he said.

The way he said it, so nonchalant in the words, made her stomach roll over once, _twice_ before deciding to settle down into something that was both pleasant and uncomfortable. She fidgeted in her spot.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, no doubt a line of concern forming in between his brows.

"I'm _fine_," she jeered, the last syllable coming out harsher than she originally intended. He sighed an _okay, whatever_ sigh and resumed his first position.

"So how was gliding?" she asked him, the question surprising them both and breaking the silence. She stunned herself by asking that, she normally wasn't one to take interests in the ways the others spent their free time, but then again, Aang wasn't some _other_ person.

"Well," he began. "It was fun."

_That was all? "It was just _fun_?"_ She raised an eyebrow, an all too familiar smirk starting to come out of hiding, her body visibly relaxing. This wasn't the Aang she knew, the one that would give you every single detail of something to make sure that you understood it from his own point of view.

"Fun?" she asked again. Her tone was flat, monotonous in its presentation, as if the word was nothing too important, as if someone had asked another for the time.

She could feel him sit up, eyes trained on her figure. Toph tensed up once again, not quite liking his stare on her (_unless of course it was between a pupil and his teacher, but this was not the case_). This was one between friends, close friends even, and she wasn't _used_ to it. He had always been the _sweet, kind_ boy to her, but this stare…_this one_…it was _different_. It was more than difficult to exactly explain what was in it, but she knew this much- it _meant_ something. And _that_ was what made her edgy right then.

"Yes, fun," he answered easily. He stood up and she heard the familiar _click_ as he allowed the staff's wings to emerge from their wooden cocoon. Her blind, pale green eyes followed his movements as easily as if they could see the colors of the world around her. She felt his hand on hers, _warm_ and _assuring_ and _steady_, pulling her up from the ground.

"I'm going to show you," he whispered into her ear, an act that sent cool shivers down her spine, even though she was more than warm. He was so _close_.

"_Show_…show me what?" she replied, her voice tripping over itself. She frowned as he pulled her towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I am going to show you how it feels to fly," the young monk said simply, as if it was just another thing to do that day. Toph pushed him away and took a step back herself, sun-kissed arms crossing over her chest.

"No."

They stood there facing each other, one debating whether to take her answer as a final one and the second juggling the emotions inside of her.

"If you say so," Aang said eventually, his voice unsure but still indifferent all the same.

"Fine," she muttered, dropping back down onto the ground and assuming her first position. He stood there for a moment or two, just to figure out a thing or two before taking off. The earthbender exhaled a sigh she realized she hadn't been holding and started to listen…

_There it was again_, the _air_. It _swooped_ and _swirled_ and _glided_, the boy manipulating it with _precision_ and _ease_. She listened carefully to every turn it made and to every noise it produced.

_Something is missing_, she concluded.

Maybe it was just her imagination working to her disadvantage, caused by the confusing feelings jumbled inside of her, but when she listened harder to it she found that she was true. Something was _missing_ from it, something was _wrong_. Had she disappointed him when she said no to his offer? Is this the result of her rejection?

_Pitiful._

The air calmed down once more (_he must have landed softer this time_) and Aang was again right beside her. He said nothing to her at all and she could sense his gray emotions, clouding her vision like a dark fog. She clenched her jaw (_why was she suddenly feeling guilty?_) and squeezed her eyes shut. The airbender walked away, leaving behind a dull _thump, thump_ on the ground as he shuffled away.

I can't believe I'm going to do this… 

"Aang!" she called after him, running over to where he was standing, black hair flowing after her. She could feel his gaze speeding over her again as if the first few times weren't enough to take her all in (_she didn't know which one she liked more- him treating her simply most of the time or this sudden undeniable attention he was giving her_).

"Yes?" he answered plainly.

"I…I want to go with you," she said quickly and quietly, looking down as if saying something embarrassing. The young Avatar didn't say anything for a minute.

"Are you sure?"

She became irritated with that question. "_Yes_, I am sure, _thank you very much!_"

He flinched at her tone, she was sure of it, but he came beside her nonetheless. "You'll have to hold on tight. Be relaxed, though, the wind is about _freedom_ and having a _carefree_ spirit." His voice had lowered just for her, sending those cold chills down her spine again.

"I think I can handle it," she whispered, her tone shaky.

"I'm sure you could," he went on. "But it's different once you're up there."

"I don't mind," she said.

"Then take my hand," he ordered. She held it out for him. He slipped an assuring hand into hers, bringing him behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Now when I jump up," he told her. "You need to put your legs around my own."

"And then what?"

"Then," he laughed. "You _fly_."

She heard the staff _click_ once more into a glider, the wings spreading a sharp breeze against her face.

"Ready?"

She nodded, a knot of fear (_not that she would ever admit it_) lodged into her stomach as she positioned herself on his back. "Go ahead."

She screamed. _Loudly._ The moment her feet left the ground she realized that she was moving though nothing. _Nothing._ Nothing but the cool breeze around her, tangling back and forth until she couldn't tell where it began and where it ended.

"Aang!"

She wrapped her legs around his lower half and held on as tightly as she could, keeping her blind eyes closed just for the sheer comfort of feeling more secure that way. _This direction_ and _that one_, she forgot where she was. It all blended into one. The glider tilted sideways and down, bringing them into a sharp curve towards the ground before shooting straight into the sky once more.

She felt a hot, itchy tear leave her eyes, her body breaking out into silent sobs. _She wasn't going to let Aang know that she was afraid, she wasn't!_ She tightened her grip around his slender body; it was her only comfort in all of that empty abyss. He slowed down a little and she let out a relived sigh, one she regretted for letting out too soon because of how he sped up. He _sped_ and _sped_ and **_sped_**, until she feared that if they fell it would be the end of them, until _they_ weren't in the _wind_ but the _wind_ was in _them_, until all that was left was the two of them together up high. Somehow through all of her fright she managed to find a warm reassurance in that (_should she?_).

Then she felt them going downward once more, landing with a swift _shooof!_ on the grass once more.

Toph collapsed to the ground, _shaking_ and _trembling_ as she curled up on one side. Aang dropped his glider with a wooden _clatter_ and rushed to her side, standing her up and embracing her into a hug.

"I'm _sorry_…I didn't _mean_ to…_I didn't_ _want you to get hurt!_" he exclaimed, over and over until he quieted down from not having anymore to offer. She stilled and took in deep breaths of the same air that had nerved her.

"_Don't ever do that again!_" she yelled. He nodded fervently and took her hand.

"I'm here if you need me, Toph," he said quietly, before letting go of her. His parting touch lingered on her fingertips- cooling, soft, _burning_.

She sat down on the ground again, her black hair ruffled into a tousled mess, skin flushed from the exhilarating ride. Her body was still smarting off of it, only calming down just now. It was still going free, _twisting_ and _turning_ just like the glider did. It had frightened her more than anything else possibly could, being in something that was made of nothing. It was an experience, for sure.

And though she would never tell anyone (_not for a while, if ever_), it had made her feel something else.

It made her feel… 

_Alive._

---_i**feel**alive_---

I hope you all enjoyed that. I enjoyed writing it. It was different for Toph and Aang- different character dynamics, different interaction possibilities, and a different way of reading into their relationship. I had to let go of my Kataang-ness (if only for writing this story) to fully dive into Taang. It was an experience that I've been working on since May, when Eri requested this fan fiction after seeing Toph in action for the first time. It wasn't easy at all. With my die-hard loyalty and love for Kataang and the fandom's vibe leaning towards Taang and Zutara, it was a journey that was both emotional and mental. I had to see the other side without my opinions of the two romances clouding my judgment and it was hard. Still is, I think, but I'm getting better. I'm never leaving the Kataang side, _never_, but I can still try my best. And I believe that I did it well. I only wish that more people form both sides would do it.

If this is accepted well by the community, I might write more Taang friendship one-shots. Please review me. I would appreciate both constructive critcism and compliments, please and thank you. I ask that you avoid sending me flames and nasty comments involving my ship preference. If you ask nicely, however, about why I support Kataang, I'll answer you honestly.

_XOXO…daydream11_


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